A group that deliberately caused traffic accidents at major tourist destinations including Geoje and Jeju in South Gyeongsang Province, pocketing hundreds of millions of won in insurance payouts, has been arrested by police.
The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency said Thursday it had arrested 22 people on charges including violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, and detained three of them, including the 45-year-old ringleader identified as A.
From January 2022 to June 2024, the group staged a total of 14 traffic accidents while moving around major tourist areas including Geoje and Jeju. They are suspected of extorting about 200 million won in insurance payouts and criminal settlement money by disguising the incidents as accidents caused by negligence.
The group, made up of local seniors and juniors, married couples and couples in relationships, committed the crimes in a meticulous and organized manner, including purchasing foreign-brand cars and motorcycles in advance for use in the schemes, the investigation found.
They primarily lay in wait around entertainment districts, targeting drivers coming out after drinking. After tailing drunk-driving vehicles and deliberately causing accidents, they engaged in extortion by threatening victims that they would "report the drunk driving to police."
They also lured acquaintances they were close with into drinking sessions to induce drunk driving, then deliberately caused accidents. They then pressed for settlements as if they would resolve the case, using threats and extortion to squeeze out 30 million won on four occasions, including one attempted extortion.
In some cases, they recruited accomplices in advance and divided roles between the at-fault vehicle and the victim vehicle before deliberately causing accidents. The investigation found that they defrauded multiple insurance companies of 168 million won over 10 occasions by deliberately causing accidents targeting vehicles that had violated traffic laws and then filing accident claims.
Launching the investigation based on intelligence, police confirmed the full scope of the crimes through searches and seizures of business premises and residences and analysis of bank accounts. Based on this, they arrested all of the ringleaders, including those staying overseas in Vietnam and elsewhere.
"Insurance fraud is a serious crime that harms people's livelihoods, causing premium increases for the many law-abiding policyholders and disrupting the nation's financial order, so we will concentrate our investigative capabilities and respond firmly," a Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency official said. "We ask that anyone who suspects insurance fraud damage actively report it to their nearest police station."
